California

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it filed a lawsuit to 'block' a California law which requires oil and gas drilling to be kept away from schools, homes and hospital by buffer zones greater than half a kilometer (1 km). The Justice Department has said that it will be seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the?enforcement of the law in the next few days. California Senate Bill 1137 prohibits the drilling of new oil and natural gas wells in a radius of 3,200 feet (975 metres) from community spaces. It also imposes stricter health and safety standards on...

Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit against California on Friday challenging two state laws requiring large companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emission and climate-related risks. Exxon filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of California arguing that Senate Bills 261 and 253 violated its First Amendment rights because they force Exxon "to serve as a mouthpiece" for ideas it does not agree with. The company asked the court to stop the state of California enforcing these laws. Exxon claims that the Californian frameworks for reporting climate change are misleading and counterproductive. The oil giant claims...

Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit against California on Friday challenging two state laws requiring large companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emission and climate-related risks. Exxon filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of California arguing that Senate Bills 261 and 253 violated its First Amendment rights because they force Exxon "to serve as a mouthpiece" for ideas it does not agree with. The company asked the court to stop the state of California enforcing these laws. Exxon claims that the Californian frameworks for reporting climate change are misleading and counterproductive. The oil giant claims...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Wednesday that his state will continue to sue Trump's administration for its aggressive deregulatory measures on environmental regulations. He also said he was looking into more lawsuits related to deception surrounding plastics recycling. Bonta said, "Every time they break the law, it hurts my state and my people. We will sue, we'll take them to court." "So far, that's been more than one per week." He said that "we definitely have more suits planned". California's strategy is to counteract the administration's rapid rollbacks in environmental policies and its push to expand fossil-fuels. In...

California's Energy Commission decided on Friday to set aside for a temporary period penalties for excessive refinery profits, which were adopted in response to the rise of gasoline prices over $8 per gallon by 2022. The delay of five years in implementing penalties comes at a time when Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery prepares to start shutting down production next week, ahead of a complete closure. California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom proposed the penalties but has now changed direction due to fears of price spikes after 2026 following the closure of a Phillips 66 plant and a Valero Energy Corp....

Data from oil analytics company Kpler revealed that fuel importers in California received gasoline from Saudi Arabia’s Jubail industrial port after maintenance at India's world's biggest refinery helped to open up the rare arbitrage. Kpler reports that three gasoline shipments, totaling 886,000 barrels, from Saudi Arabia's Jubail industrial port have been discharged at Southern California's Olympus terminals in the last few months. California hadn't imported fuel from Saudi Arabia since the year 2022. In 2025, about 40% of the gasoline imported by the terminal came from Jamnagar. This was because Jamnagar had a maintenance shutdown in April. Yui Torikata, Kpler's...

Phillips 66 is expected to lay off most workers at its 139,000-barrel-per-day Los Angeles-area refinery in December, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The company announced that it would shut down the facility in October and start winding down its operations in October 2025. Two months later, the company will start reducing its workforce. About 600 employees work at the Los Angeles facility, along with 300 contractors. The United Steelworkers Union represents over half of the hourly employees. Sources said that a few of the retained employees will be transferred to Phillips 66 Los Angeles Marine Oil Terminal....

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Monday that California drivers pay more at the pump due to issues with supply, environmental compliance, fuel requirements and high state taxes. The latest data shows that in March, environmental programs like Cap-and-Trade, Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cap-and-Trade added $0.54 per gallon to the cost of gasoline. EIA reported that California consumers pay $0.90 per gallon, or the highest amount in the nation, in taxes and fees, as of March. Why it's important California is the biggest gasoline market in the United States, but many fuelmakers have closed less profitable stations citing...

Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Monday said that a fluidic catalytic cracked (FCC) in Motiva Enterprises refinery Port Arthur, Texas is expected to be closed for at least two weeks following a second failed restart attempt last weekend. On January 21, the unit called FCC3 and an alkylation was shut down for a planned two-month overhaul. FCCs transform gas oil into unfinished fuel, while alkylation systems convert refinery byproducts into components that are typically added to gasoline. Motiva didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Sources said that the second attempt to restart FCC3, which is capable of...

President Donald Trump's. administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to place on. hold prepared arguments in a quote by fuel manufacturers to challenge. California's requirements for car emissions and electric vehicles. under a federal air pollution law. The brand-new Republican politician administration likewise made similar demands in. three other cases involving the actions of federal firms,. providing an early indication that it will take a fresh look at a. variety of legal concerns before the court and possibly change. positions from Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. The anticipated modifications in the federal government's position might be a. closer...

LyondellBasell Industries will begin the irreversible closure of its 263,776 barrelperday Houston refinery this coming weekend, said people knowledgeable about plant operations. Layoffs of approximately 400 workers at the refinery are set up to begin two months after the shutdown begins, the sources stated. A Lyondell representative did not immediately respond to a. request for remark. Lyondell plans to transform existing hydrotreaters at the. refinery site along the Houston Ship Channel for usage with. equipment to be included after 2027 to produce plastic pellets from. recycled plastic items. Lyondell said in November shuttering the refinery would. begin in January and...

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday revealed the creation of a relief fund to assistance and restore small businesses affected by the wildfires that have damaged parts of Los Angeles for the past week. The Chamber will provide grants ranging from $5,000. to$ 10,000 as a direct support together with disaster recovery. webinars and business encouraging support to guide through the. reconstructing phase. The monstrous fires have actually killed a minimum of 25 individuals, harmed. or ruined nearly 12,000 structures and taken in a location the. size of Washington, D.C. already. Some 6.5 million individuals remained under...

California Coastal Commission voted against SpaceX's plan to double the number Falcon 9 rocket launches that the company can conduct from Vandenberg Space Force Base each year, from 50 up to 95. As was the case last October when the commission voted to oppose an expansion of SpaceX launches from 36 to fifty at the installation. The U.S. Government can simply override California regulators' objections and approve this latest plan. The U.S. Department of the Air Force (parent agency of the Space Force) has stated that the proposed expansion of the launch site at Vandenberg is an activity of the...

Three sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that California officials are looking for a buyer to take over the Benicia refinery of Valero Energy, located near San Francisco. This is an unusual move, as the company plans to close the facility by April. California's 28 million drivers, who already pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation, are now concerned about protecting the fuel supply in their state. California's efforts to prevent the refinery from shutting down also mark a shift in government policy from recent years, which has focused on championing green initiatives and limiting fossil...

The U.S House of Representatives has voted to block California's historic plan to stop the sale of only gasoline vehicles by 2035, which was adopted by 11 states. The House has backed legislation that will repeal the waiver granted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the former president Joe Biden, in December. This waiver allowed California to mandate 80% electric cars by 2035. Major automakers urged this action because the rules were not feasible. California claims the rules are necessary to reduce pollution, and that the vote was illegal. California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the program is crucial to...

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be sympathetic to fuel producers' bid to challenge California's vehicle emission standards and electric cars in an air pollution case under federal law. This is a case that involves the Democratic-governed State's ability to combat greenhouse gases. The Justices heard arguments from a Valero Energy sub-division and groups representing the fuel industry in their appeal of a lower courts ruling that they did not have the legal standing required to challenge the 2022 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to allow California to set its own rules, separate from the federal government. Both conservative and...

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on the Republican plan to repeal Biden's approval of California’s landmark plan that would end the sale of only gasoline vehicles by 2035. The office of House Majority leader Steve Scalise said that on Wednesday, lawmakers would vote to repeal the waiver given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December to California allowing it to mandate at minimum 80% electric cars by 2035. These rules have also been adopted by 11 other states. The question remains as to whether Congress has the power to revoke the waiver under the Congressional...

The executive order issued by U.S. president Donald Trump on Tuesday aims to prevent the enforcement of laws that have been passed in states to reduce fossil fuel use and combat climate changes. This is just the latest effort by Trump's Administration to boost domestic energy production and fight back against policies largely led by Democrats to curb carbon emission. The move came only hours after Trump, the Republican, had issued orders to increase coal output. The order directs the U.S. Attorney general to identify state legislation that addresses climate change, ESG Initiatives, environmental justice, and carbon emissions and take...

A U.S. Judge said that several companies, including Walmart, Beech-Nut, and Gerber, must face a national lawsuit alleging that toxic heavy metals were contaminated in their baby food and caused brain and neurodevelopmental damages to the children who ate them. In a ruling on Wednesday, U.S. district judge Jacqueline Scott Corley stated that parents could try to prove defective manufacturing, negligence, and failure to warn their children about over 600 baby food products, caused them to suffer from autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Parents claimed that some defendants did not adhere to their internal limits on how...

First, there were the rapid-fires that caused so much destruction. Workers are now tackling the delicate and massive task of cleaning up hazardous debris from the wreckage of the homes that were destroyed in the Los Angeles fires earlier this month. Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to speed up the removal of contaminated materials. His administration set a deadline of Feb. 25, 2019. On Thursday, workers in hazmat suits and hard hats, as well as other protective gear, picked through the rubble to find paint cans, batteries, and other items. The buckets were emptied...

Firemens raced to include the frontiers of two Los Angeles wildfires that burned for the sixth straight day on Sunday, making the most of a. short break in hazardous conditions previously high winds were. anticipated to fan the flames anew. At least 24 people have passed away in what California Governor. Gavin Newsom stated could be the most devastating natural disaster. in U.S. history, one that has actually ruined countless homes and. required 100,000 individuals to leave. Flames have actually decreased entire neighborhoods to smoldering ruins,. leveling the homes of the rich and well-known and normal folk. alike, and leaving...

Researchers said the windwhipped wildfires tearing throughout the arid Los Angeles landscape mark the most current in climatefuelled weather extremes that are most likely to intensify even more as worldwide temperatures continue to climb up. Erupting well outside of the traditional wildfire season, the California blazes were spreading rapidly on Wednesday. For California, researchers now think about fire to be a. yearlong risk. The western U.S. state has actually likewise seen progressively. massive blazes over the last few years, with more acreage burned. amidst drying conditions and moving weather condition patterns. Environment modification is improving the programs - the. particular...

Inbound U.S. President Donald Trump's shift group is recommending sweeping changes to cut off assistance for electric cars and charging stations and to reinforce procedures obstructing automobiles, elements and battery materials from China, according to a file seen . The recommendations, which have actually not been formerly reported, come as the U.S. electric-vehicle shift stalls and China's greatly subsidized EV industry continues to rise, in part since of its superior battery supply chain. On the project path, Trump promised to alleviate policies on fossil-fuel cars and trucks and roll back what he called President Joe Biden's EV mandate. The shift...

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a bid by fuel producers to challenge California's. requirements for car emissions and electrical cars under a. federal air contamination law in a major case checking the. Democraticgoverned state's power to combat greenhouse gases. The justices used up an appeal by a Valero Energy. subsidiary and fuel market groups of a lower court's rejection. of their obstacle to a decision by Democratic President Joe. Biden's administration allow California to set its own. policies. The disagreement fixates an exception approved to California in. 2022 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to nationwide....